Centrifugal drier



G. H. ELMORE.

CENTRIFUGAL DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-8. 19w.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I 1,342,743.. PatentedJune8,1920.

w/W gg L Ciuy H. Elmore,

GUY H. ELMORE, 0F SWARTHMORE, PENNSYLVANIA."

GENTRIFUGAL DRIER.

Application filed August a,

To all whom 2'2. may concern:

' Be it known that I, GUY H. ELMORE, a. citizen of the United States, residing at Swarthmore, in the county of Delaware and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Driers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to continuously acting centrifugal driers having automatic feed, and it consists in a novel construction hereinafter set forth, whereby the feed of the machine, initially regulated, is made constant as to each feeding stroke, and isvaried in frequency to correspond with the variations in speed of rotation and the consequent rapidity of the drying action of the Y centrifugal extractor.

through which the dried The drawings illustrate a preferred-embodiment of the invention,'and in them Figure 1 is a vertical central sectlon through the plane of the power shafts and vertical spindle, said shafts and spindle, however, not being in section;

Fig. 2 is a partial verti al section of the machine taken at an angl of. 90 to Fig. 1, to show the relation of the driving shafts and connecting gearing;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 3-8 ofFigl;

Fig. 4 is a view of the variable-throw eccentric preferably used to give variable feeding action.

In this selected embodiment of my invention the axis of rotation is vertical and the feedis from the top downward, but these' features are optional or variable, that is to say, the axis of rotation may be inclined or even horizontal and the feed may be in either direction. If upward, the conical portions may take acylindrical form, and other minor changes may be made.

The working parts of the machine are mounted in a substantial main frame 1 resting upon a base 2, and having .an elevated bed or platform 3 for the centrifugal moisture extractor or drier. The portion of the frame 1 intermediate the base 2 and platform?) is cored or formed with passages material descends and is discharged after being acted upon by the centrifugal moisture-extracting mechanism, rotor, etc. Beneath the base 2 is an oil-tight eccentric casing 4:, and above said base is an oil-tight gear case or housing 5, these housings being secured to and carried Specification of Letters Patent.

this embodiment Patented June 8, 1920. 1918. Serial no. 248,911.

by the base. Also mounted upon the base '2 and connected with the gear housing 5, is a second gear case or housing 6 provided with ball bearings 7 and 8, in which is mounted and rotates the main driving shaft 9. This shaft in addition to the ball-bearing races or collars, carries a thrust-sleeve 10, a radial flange 11 of which plays between balls carried in a double ball-race 12. Thisarrangement prevents end play of the driving shaft 9.

Mounted upon the end of the main driving shaft within the gear housing 5, is a bevel gear 13 which meshes with a bevel pinion 14: carried by a tubular shaft or quill l5 encircling a vertical shaft or arbor 16. A spline or feather extending lengthwise of shaft 16 and entering a corresponding longitudinal seat within the tubular shaft or quill l5, permits vertical movement of the shaft 16 relatively to the quill 15 but insures joint rotation of the two. This tubular shaft or quill 15 carries the centrifugal drier or extracting rotor, as will presently be described, and the central shaft 16 carries at its upper end an annular piston or plunger, the office of which is to force downward into the annular space immediately within the perforate or screen surface of the extracting rotor, charges of material to be dried.

For the purpose of imparting vertical motion to shaft or arbor 16, main driving shaft 9 is provided with a worm 17 which meshes with and rotates a worm-wheel 18 carried by a shaft 19 mounted in suitable bearings, and provided at the end opposite that carrying the worm-wheel 18 with a sprocket-wheel 20. Journaled in bearings beneath the base 2 is a shaft 21 carrying a sprocket-wheel 22, and at its outer end a crank-disk 23. A sprocket-chain 24 passing about the sprocket-wheels 20 and 22, imparts motion from the former'to the latter, and

hence to shaft 21, to crank-disk 23, and to an eccentric 25 carried at the end of shaft 21 within the casing 4. This eccentric maybe ofthe well-known variable throw type, an example of which is illustrated in Fig. 4:. In the eccentric hub or disk 25 is encircled by an annular eccentric member 26, the outer circumference of the inner member 25 and the inner wall of the outer member 26 being provided with corresponding seats or notches 27 to receive a locking key 28. By turning the two members 25 and 26 to such relation that their major axes coincide and that the eccentricity of both is on the same side of their common axis, a maximum throw is afforded; whereas by adjusting the outer member 26 to a diametrically opposite angular position, said outer member will be made to assume a position concentric with the axis of the shaft 21. In-

termediate degrees of eccentricity are secured by adjusting the outer member 26 to intermediate angular positions. and locking the two parts by the key 28. The eccentric rotates within a short pitman or connecting member 29 connected by a pin 30 with a vertically movable housing 31 guided 'in a bearing 32 formed in the base or lower part of gear housing 5. The housing 31 is suitably connected with the lower end of shaft or arbor 16, so that as the housing is vertically reciprocated by the eccentric, said shaft or arbor shall be similarly moved, at the same time rotating with the tubular shaft or quill 15 as before explained.

In practice, I find it advisable to provide a ball bearing connection between the housing 31 and shaft or arbor 16. The precise construction of this connection is not a matter of essential importance, but that illustrated is found quite satisfactory. This comprises an upper collar 33 and ring 34 with interposed ring 37 with facing ball-races and intermediate balls 38 ;'and annular race-ways 39 and .40 with intermediate balls 41. The upper and lower collars 33 and 36 are held in posi tion by a locked nut 42 on the lower end of shaft or arbor 16, and the rings 34 and 37 have annular seats in the removable member 43, said member being provided with a cover plate 44 and secured to the body of the housing by bolts 45. The upper and lower ball bearings with'their balls receive the end pull and thrust imparted to the shaft or arbor 16 by the pitman 29, and the intermediate ball bearings serve or. arbor 16 and permit it to rotate freely with reference to housing 31.

At a point somewhat below its upper end v the tubular shaft or quill 15 has firmly se- I serving to give a cured to it a collar 46,. beneath which are arranged annular ball races 47, 48, with interposed balls 49', these but bolted or otherwise firmly secured to the upper bed or platform 3, said housing being concentric with the shaft or arbor 16. Encircling the collar 46 and carried respectively thereby and by the inner wall of the housing 50, are ball-races 51 and 52 with in-' termediate balls 53, these races and balls frictionless bearing for the upper end of the "tubular shaft or quill 15.

The housing 50 forms an oil receptacle which may be supplied with oil through a pending balls 35; a lower collar 36 and to center the shaftparts being sup-- ported upon an internal annular ledge of a housing 50, preferably cast separate fromlateral and comparatively pipe 54, so that the balls may run in oil and thus be constantly lubricated. To prevent escape of oil around the quill shaft 15 where it passes through the bottom of the housing and resting upon the collar 46 is a split or divided collar 56, which is let into or fits within a recess turned in the outer surface of the quill 15, and is provided with a deflange which overhangs and forms a cover for the housing 50. To prevent the tubular shaft or quill15 from rising above its normal fixed level, a second split collar 57 is let into the circumference of said quill below the housing 50, and firmly bolted in position. Between this collar and the base of housing 50 are interposed ball-races. 58 and '59 between which are arranged balls 60'. This ball bearing and the split'sleeve or colhr 57 take any upward thrust or lifting tendency of the quill. 1

As shown in Fig. 1. the opening or passage 61 connects the gear housings 4 and 5, and these housings are provided at the several points where the shafts 9, 15 and 21 enter or pass .through their. walls, with oil-tight packing 62, as is also the housing 6. In practice, the'several housings are supplied with oil, the lower housing 4 being completely filled, and the oil rising in housings 5 and 6 'sufliciently high to be taken up and thrown to the upper part of each by the gears rotating therein. The vertically reciprocating housing 31 moving up and down ,within the gear housings 4 and 5, acts as a pump, causingan upward and downward flow of oil 7 through the passage 61, and insuring an adequate supply to the upper housing 5.

The moisture extractor proper: is a rotor of generally conical form, comprising an inner imperforate cone 63 and an outer concentric conical screen member 64. The inner member 63 is cast in two sections, the. lower one containing a central hub which is keyed section is bolted to the lower. section. Carried by and connected with the circumference of the lower portion of cone 63, preferably by spokes 63 integral with said parts, is an annular guard and support 65 to which is boltedthe skirt of screen member 64. Said guard is provided with an outwardly projecting flangeor lip 66 at its lower edge, which passes beneath the inwardly overhanging annular guard member 67 which rests upon and is carried by the bed or platform 3. Finally, an annular guard 68 having a depending lip at its circumference, is bolted or otherwise made fast to the outer or otherwise made fas to the u nerend of the tubular shaft or quill 15, while the upper face of the guard 65, and encompasses the three parts 66, 67 and 68 forming an effective barrier against entrance or escape of material at the lower end of the rotor.

The upper section of cone 63 rises somewhat above the top of the tubular shaft or quill 15, where it is provided with a closed top 69 slightly higher at its center than at its circumference, and forming a floor upon which material delivered through a hopper 70 is received, and over which it is distributed by centrifugal action aided by curved or inclined blades or vanes 71, to the space between the cone 63 and the screen 64. 72 indicates the topmost portion'or member of the upper section of cone 63, with which it is connected by tubular posts 73 cast in tegral with the floor 69 and with the portion 72. This topmost portion 72 is of cylindrical form, its walls being of about the same thickness as the body of the cone 63,

and its bottom being arched about a central.

opening through which the delivery spout of the hopper 70 passes.-

As shown in Fig. 1, the upper portion of the screen member 64 is likewise cylindrical and is concentric with the cylindrical portion 72 of the cone member 63. thus producing between them an annular chamber which extends downward to a point somewhat below the floor 69 of the cone. Within this annular chamber is arranged an annular plunger or piston 74, the upper portion of which is cut away on its inner and outer faces to receive packing material 75. This packing is compressed by an annular follower 76 having depending flanges which pass down between the reduced upper portion of the annular plunger or piston 74 and the walls between which said piston or plunger moves.

Rising from the follower 76 are tubular posts 77 provided with inwardly turned arms 78 radial to the axis of shaft or arbor 16. Through the posts 77 pass bolts 79 which serve to bind together the plunger or piston 74 and the follower 76, and to give the requisite compression to the interposed packing to insure a fluid-tight joint between the piston and the walls of the space in which it moves. Through the ends of the overhanging arms 78 which are perforated for that purpose, are passed the threaded ends of vertical rods 80, preferably screwed into tapped openings in said arms 78, and held at any desired adjustment therein by nuts 81 above and below the arms. The lower ends of the rods are similarly threaded, and passed through the radial arms of a spider 82 secured to and carried at the upper end of the central shaft or arbor 16, nuts 83 being applied to the threaded lower ends of the rods 80 above and below the arms of said spider, as in the case of the arms 78. The follower 7 6 with its posts 77 and overhanging arms 7 8, the rods 80, and

' rise and fall in unison with said shaft or arbor and to like extent.

As the plunger or piston 74 descends it passes from above the space between floor 69 and the bottom of the annular member 72, and carries downward before it the material thrown or moved outward by the blades or vanes 71, causing said material to be positively fed or forced into the annular space between the cone 63 and the screen 64. By varying the throw of the eccentric 25 the movement of the plunger or piston 74 will be varied, and consequently the distance to or the rate at which the material is advanced into the drying space.

To insure a regular and uniform delivery of material into and through the hopper 70, any suitable form of feed device capable of delivering measured charges into the hopper 70 may be employed, as for instance a-rotating horizontal cylinder provided with longitudinal pockets and arranged at the base of a hopper containing in bulk the material to be treated, said cylinder being periodically advanced a sufficient distance to dump or empty into the hopper 70 the contents of one of its said pockets. Or a reciprocating plunger working across the bottom of a vertical supply pipe or trunk and moved periodically can be used. Other common forms of feed device will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. To actuate "such cylindrical feed device the crank-disk or eccentric 23 is provided with a crank-pin 84 to which is connected one end of a rod or pitman 85 extending to and connected with a pawl-carrier 86 hung upon the shaft of the pocketed cylinder of the feed over the teeth of a ratchet-wheel secured to said shaft. For other feeding mechanism any other suitable connection may be made.

Collection of the moisture extracted from the material treated, which moisture is thrown off by centrifugal force, is effected by inclosing the rotor in a casing 88, the skirt or lower edge of which is suitablymade fast to the upstanding outer wall of a launder or annular channel 89 formed in the bed or platform 3, and provided with a discharge pipe or outlet at any desired point. The solid material or substance dried, passes downward through cored openings 90 in the main frame 1, and escapes at the base 2 or at any intermediate point or points. The cas ving 88 may if desired support the hopper 70 as shown in the drawings. To permit ready inspection of and access to the rotor, the casing is provided with a manhole 91 having a close fitting cover 92, which may be secured in place in any usual or convenient manner.

' afforded by minimum,

It is obvious that the construction above set forth may be given varying embodiments,

and so long as the general idea of supplying measured charges to one end of the rotor and eriodically forcing said charges forward or inward between the inner cone and the outer screen of the rotor, is present, these will fall within the scope and spirit of my invention. .The employment of ball bearings through out is with a view to reducing friction to a and permitting rotation at high velocity with relatively small expenditure of power, thus giving economy in cost of operation. Plain bearings'of cylindrical or equivalent form may be substituted in order to cheapen the cost of construction, but the greater economy and efilciency of operation the substitution of rolling for rubbing friction will generally be found to more than offset the usual difference in cost of construction. a

The feeding vanes 71 may of course be of any suitable form, either straight blades tangential to a circle concentric. with the axis -'of the shaft 'or quill 15, or curved blades, both types being common in centrifugal fans, pumps,'and the like.

Having thus described my invention what I claim 1s':-'

1. In combination with the rotor of a centrifugal drier, comprising an inner solid portion and 'an outer annular perforate portion; an axially arranged feed inlet having a discharge outlet opening into the annular space between the inner and outer members of the rotor; and .a plunger or piston movable across said outlet and serving to force the fed material into said annular space.

2. In combination with the rotor of a centrifugal drier having an inner imperforate body and an outer perforate body spaced therefrom; a reciprocating plunger at one end of the annular space between said inner and outer bodies; and a feed conduit opening into said annular space in front of the. reciprocating plunger, whereby the material passing through the feed con,- duit is forced forward into the annular space.

3. In combination with the rotor of a centrifugal drier having an annular chamber for the material to be dried, a tubular shaft or quill supporting said .rotor and through which rotation is imparted theretofan inner shaft or arbor concentric with said quill and rotatable therewith; a plunger carried by said arbor and servin to force material into thecontaining cham er of the rotor; and means for imparting rotary motion to the quill and arbor and simultaneously. reciprocating the arbor.

4:..In a centrifugal drier, the combination of a rotor; a tubular shaft .or quill carrying said rotor-and serving to impart rotation thereto; a plunger for .forcing material into the rotor; a shaft or arbor carrying said plunger; gearmg for impartlng rotary motion to the quill and to theiarbor and for retracting rotor; a shaft or arbor within and concentric with said quill, the two shafts being connected to rotate in unison and the inner shaft or arbor being arranged to reciprocate within and relatively to the outer shaft; a feeding plunger or piston carried by the central arbor and serving to force material into the moisture-extractingportion of the rotor; a pinion carried by the outer shaft; a main driving shaft; a gear wheel carried by the driving shaft and meshing with said pinion; a worm also carried by the driving shaft; a worm-wheel meshing with said worm; a shaft carrying said worm-wheel and a sprocket-wheel; a second shaft carrying a sprocket-wheel and an eccentric; connections between saideccentric and the central shaft or arbor; and a chain connecting the aforesaid sprockets, whereby rotary motion is imparted to the rotor and to the plunger and reciprocating motion is imparted to the plunger.

6. In combination with a centrifugal drier having a feed hopper and a rotor containing an annular chamber into which the material to be dried is fed from the hopper; means for periodically delivering measured charges of material to said hopper; a reciprocating plunger for forcing the material delivered by said hopper into the annular receiving space of the rotor; and gearing substantially such as described, for simul- 'taneously rotating the rotor and plunger,

imparting reciprocating motion to the latter, and actuating the charge-feeding means.

7. In a centrifugal drier, the combination of a rotor of generally conical form having anannular space or chamber .formed by an inner imperforate wall and an outer perforate wall; a floor at the top of the imperforate inner member, provided on its upper surface with blades or vanes reaching from the central portion of the floor to its periphery; a feed hopper arranged to discharge at the central portion of said floor,

whereby on rotation of the rotor material deposited by the hopper u on said floor is discharged into the annular space between i the inner and outer members of the rotor; and a reciprocating plunger movable between the inner and outer walls of the rotor and serving to force the material delivered from the hopper, downward into the space into the charge-receiving space of the rotor; 25 between the inner and outer walls of the means for simultaneously imml lll mid o i W rotor."

an ro'or; an a variable throw 8. In a centrifugal dr1er, the combinat on eccentric connected wlth and serving to re- 5 of a rotor of generally conlcal form having ciprocate said plunger.

an annular charge-receiving space or cham- 10. In a centrifugal drier of the character sober formed by an lnner imperforate wall described, the combination of a rotor having and an outer perforate wall; a floor at the an inner imperforate walland an outer pertop of the imperforate inner member proforate wall, said walls being concentric and vided on its upper surface with impellin cylindrical in their upper portions; a feed blades or vanes reaching from the cent device opening into the lower portion of the :5

portion of the floor to its periphery; a feed annular space between said concentric porhopper arranged to discharge at the central tions; an annular plunger within said portion of said floor; an annular plunger space; a follower connected with and servvertically movable in a cylindrica space ing to support and carry said plunger;

forming an upward extension of the annupacking introduced between the plunger lar charge-recel space of the rotor; and and the follower, and serving to make a means substantia y such as shown, for liquid-tight joint with the walls of the space simultaneously reciprocating the plunger in which the plunger moves and means for 20 and rotating said plunger and rotor. rotatllpsg the rotor and 1111 r and simul- 9. In combination with a centrifugal taneo y reciprocating t e drier of the character described, having a In testimony whereof I have signed my feed hopper and a reciprocating plunger or name to this specification. forcing material delivered by said opper GUY H. ELMORE.

p unger. 

